What is the Aim of COP27?

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09 November 2022

COP27, held in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, is the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference, with around 40,000 people expected to attend.

Over 100 heads of states and governments will gather to continue the themes discussed at Glasgow’s COP26, as the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement near ever closer. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that global emissions are on track to surpass the 1.5 degrees celsius warming limit and reach 3.2 degrees celsius by the end of the century. 

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Why Egypt? The Importance of an African Climate Conference

Policy and adaptation expert Dr Rachel James, Climate Scientist at the University of Bristol Cabot Institute for the Environment, is attending the Sharm El-Sheikh conference and notes the importance of this year’s location: “With the war in Ukraine and a cost of living crisis, it would be easy to lose sight of the importance of climate action. But we can’t afford to wait, the urgency of addressing climate change has never been greater. And that’s particularly true for African countries, which are projected to experience some of the most damaging impacts of climate change.

“There have already been many devastating extreme weather events in African countries this year – tropical cyclones in Mozambique and Madagascar, flooding across West Africa, and drought in Ethiopia and Uganda. These barely get a mention in the UK news. That’s why an Africa-led COP is so important: to highlight the loss and damage associated with climate change, and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, to adapt to the changes that are already underway, and for action and support to address inevitable loss and damage.”

The “Implementation COP”

This year, the agenda is structured around the idea of implementation, not mitigation, and inspiring collective action. COP27 is to be unofficially referred to as “the Implementation COP”, pursuing a transformative action agenda aimed at moving from pledges to actions on the ground.

Discussions will be structured around different themes such as finance, biodiversity, gender and energy.

The COP27 Egyptian Presidency also aims to address existing gaps in climate change engagement. Key focus areas include the promise of innovation and clean technologies. the centrality of water and agriculture to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, energy transition and decarbonisation efforts.

Three days will be dedicated to youth and future generations, gender and civil society, their contributions, and the challenges they face. 14 November will be entirely dedicated to how women bear a disproportionate burden from the adverse impacts of climate change, and applying women's different perspectives to climate change policies.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda

The Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda outlines 30 outcomes which can be adopted at a local level to respond to local climate contexts. These outcomes span five impact systems: food and agriculture, water and nature, coastal and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructure, and solutions for planning and finance.

Some of these targets include:

• Increasing battery storage capacity and extending transmission and distribution networks to enable decentralised generation and consumption
• Giving 2.2 billion people access low-cost, clean vehicles and mobility solutions through the expansion of affordable public and private transport services.
• Expanding transport infrastructure to ensure it is resilient to climate hazards through adoption of new technology, design and materials

To learn more about the outcomes of COP27 after the event, sign up to Planet Mark’s debrief webinar, which will discuss how COP27’s outcomes and announcements will make a difference for businesses in the coming year

Picture: a photograph of a flag with the COP27 logo. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 09 November 2022

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